The Fourth Envelope

It's intended for the superintendent who is leaving a job when it's not by choice

"Before you leave, is there any advice you have for me?” the new superintendent asked her predecessor.

“Certainly,” he answered. “When things start to go awry, open the bottom righthand desk drawer and you will find three numbered envelopes. Each has a piece of advice for when you face tough times with the board, the staff or the community.”

Sure enough, after the first six months, the teachers union staged a walkout due to stalled contract negotiations. The board of education was not happy with the superintendent’s leadership despite board members’ own reluctance to give an inch.

She opened the first envelope. Inside was a neatly folded note that read, “Blame your predecessor.” She did just that, and the advice worked for a few months.

However, after the next election, new board members became intent on micromanaging the superintendent’s work. They held private meetings with staff, took anonymous complaints as truth and surprised the superintendent with their own “research” at public meetings. During her midyear review, she received a poor rating despite enjoying newfound support from staff and continuing support from the community.

The superintendent opened the second envelope. It read, “Reorganize!” She did, and all went well through the end of the second year.

When she discussed a contract extension with the board midway through the third, she learned she did not have backing from the full board. Three of the seven were working surreptitiously to hire an administrator who would not oppose their efforts to manage the district. Though she held a slim board majority, she knew she had to do something differently and turned to her desk drawer for advice in the final envelope. Wearily, she unsealed it only to read, “Make three envelopes …”

The joke ends here but not the full story.

A New Message

The next day, the superintendent made not three but four envelopes for her successor.

The contents of Envelope No. 1 carried a simple message: “Clarify!”

She elaborated, “You can choose to blame your predecessor and or/reorganize, but if you follow the advice in each envelope, you will learn tips from veteran superintendents about working successfully with your school board that, in turn, will give you time and opportunity to move the needle on student achievement, enhance community engagement and generate instructional innovation.” The first tip:

 Clarify board and superintendent roles. Go beyond the what and the how.
Board members and superintendents know the board’s job is the what and the superintendent’s is the how. While both sides can tell you that the board members’ lanes are governance, policy, finance and superintendent evaluation and that the superintendent’s lanes are leadership, management, accountability and staff evaluation, each often will drift into the other’s lane.

As with motor vehicles, drifting between lanes and sliding between the what and the how can lead to the district equivalent of horns blaring, fenders bending, nerves rattling and road rage.

Conflict that emanates from this lane drifting is best resolved through joint board-superintendent attention. It must be part of superintendent evaluation sessions and goal-setting conversations. Establishing and reviewing protocols at least twice a year is critically important as is a mutual acceptance that clear distinctions do not always exist between the what and the how.

In the districts where I served as superintendent, we often appointed a board member to key committees, including curriculum committees, bell schedule task force, enrollment management advisory committee, facility oversight team and student health and wellness study team. At the outset we clarified the board member would serve as an individual and not speak for the board. We also set clear ground rules to be sure that staff, parents, students and other committee members could speak freely without fearing board reprisal.

Also, the board member clarified the why and the what behind the committee charge so members clearly understood the task. Having a single board member on each committee gave them insight into the how so the member could communicate confidence in the particular committee’s work and recommendations.

This process and clarification of the why, what and how led to successful solutions.

Role clarification requires consistent, frequent communication, which brings us to the contents of Envelope No. 2: “Overcommunicate.”

 Overcommunicate.
Short of webcamming oneself, which some board members might prefer, a superintendent must be in nearly constant communication with the board. That, however, starts with clarifying expectations. As one superintendent colleague shared, “Clearly define how and when the superintendent will communicate with the board, including how quickly the superintendent is expected to answer board members’ e-mails, phone calls and texts and whether and how board members communicate with other administrators.

Here are a few overcommunication strategies that have worked for successful, long-term superintendents:

Weekly messages. Write a message to board members at the beginning or ending of the week. Highlight positive news, provide evidence of progress on the school district’s strategic goals, spotlight upcoming events and share your comings and goings.

Second cup of coffee. When I first became a principal, a mentor shared his success with a monthly activity called Second Cup of Coffee. These unstructured, hourlong sessions afforded parents, grandparents and other community stakeholders a chance to learn about the school and ask questions. I emulated this practice in every superintendency, holding sessions to talk about district goals and achievements. I invited the board member who was a school liaison or who lived in the neighborhood to answer questions and be publicly recognized for service.

Event attendance. Sitting with a board member at a school concert, athletic event or assembly provides a more relaxed atmosphere to talk, even if it’s mostly small talk. Board members can use the occasion to raise a question they have been harboring, share an issue overheard in the community, or seek an update on a matter.

No surprises. Arguably, the greatest cause of conflict between a superintendent and a board is surprise. Boards disdain few things more than hearing about a problem from the news media before hearing it from the superintendent. Likewise, superintendents are aggravated when a board member shows up at a meeting with a handout previously unshared with the superintendent or board colleagues.

It is essential superintendents communicate immediately with board members regarding any serious matter that could receive news coverage. When surprised by a handout or formal remark at a board meeting, the superintendent should not share disappointment or anger publicly but subsequently talk face-to-face with the board member to explain the negative impact the surprise will have on stakeholders.

Social media. Despite advising against using Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, etc., as tools to communicate with board members, I believe these can be effective platforms for highlighting positive news and special events. Social media posts also can provide public or board recognition. A colleague makes it a practice to tweet one positive piece of news daily, often a photo, and provide recognition on his Facebook page. Board members appreciate the attention.

One on ones. The most effective communication, face-to-face, enables the leader to both understand and be understood, thus forging trusting relationships. Successful superintendents make it a practice to meet at least weekly with the board president and weekly or biweekly with other members.

This brings us to what is stuffed inside Envelope No. 3: “Personalize!”

 Develop personalized relationships.
Contrary to what all superintendents and board members hear during orientations, their relationship is NOT a marriage. Marriages are once- (or in some cases, such as mine, twice) in-a-lifetime events. Superintendencies seldom are. Moreover, board elections bring new partners home that are not always immediately compatible. That said, long-term stable leadership is beneficial so it is important for superintendents to develop and cultivate authentic relationships.

Superintendents owe it to their students to develop positive working relationships with all board members because without board support, leaders cannot help students or staff, schools or communities.

Think of it as an investment. Just as setting aside part of a paycheck for a college fund, retirement or a down payment on a home eventually pays off, regular meetings with individual board members — scheduled and impromptu, formal and casual, sit downs and phone calls — benefits the entire district in that, in the long run, the leader will have the space and time to do his or her best work.

Personal relationships are built on trust, and trust comes from honest communication. Wrote one colleague, “As a new superintendent, the first thing I had to do was to establish a relationship with the board to determine the best practice to use to communicate with them.”

To develop a productive relationship — whether or not it leads to marriage — one must listen. As the superintendent nurtures relationships with a newly elected board member or deepens those with veteran members, he or she should live by Stephen Covey’s precept: “Seek first to understand and then be understood.”

Personal relationships begin with common interests and shared passions. Double down on teaching and learning. We chose our profession because of our care and commitment to students. Likewise, most board members serve to improve the quality of education for students and they hire leaders who put students first.

Veteran superintendents know what brought them to the dance and readily feature students and staff in weekly messages, recognize accomplishments and contributions at board meetings, and spend at least some time each week in a school or two. Moreover, they find ways to reinforce board members’ commitment to children through public recognition and invitations to special events.

A Personal Legacy

Three envelopes and three ways to ensure success: Clarify, overcommunicate, personalize. So what is in that fourth envelope for the superintendent’s successor? Did she write “Make four envelopes”? Or did she write “Call your lawyer!”?

Actually, the fourth envelope contained her list of professional accomplishments. It was her written legacy highlighting the contributions she had made to improving the quality of teaching and learning; the financial stability she had established; the tangible progress in achieving initiatives, including closing the achievement gap, reducing suspensions and increasing the graduation rate; the support systems she built for students struggling academically and emotionally; and the leaders she developed and was leaving behind.

Superintendents leaving jobs not by choice must create this fourth envelope for future leaders. These achievements are the foundation for the district’s continued success. Although the departing leaders will never get the credit, they will know deep within their head and heart that their hard work made a difference and their legacy will endure.